Wordly Wise Wednesday | Bogart

I’m very excited to present the very first Wordly Wise Wednesday. For this week’s inspiration I looked to the Word of the Day provided on Merriam-Webster’ site. In the future, I might refer to some other resources. I almost used Wordsmith’s ‘defriend’, but was far more inspired by MW’s ‘bogart’.

Since this is the first, I’ll just quickly explain the format of each week. First I’ll present the word, it’s definition and its etymology (aka history/origins). Then I’ll provide a short excerpt (100-300 words) inspired by it.

Please feel free to send me words in turn that you fancy and would like to see me cover. Or if you have any suggestions for how I can make this post better, I’d love that too 🙂

Without further ado, let’s turn to our first word of 2016!

BOGART

v. (boh – gart)

to bully or intimidate

to use or consume without sharing

Etymology:

The legendary film actor Humphrey Bogart was known for playing a range of tough characters in a series of films throughout the 1940s and 1950s, including The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, The African Queen, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The men he portrayed often possessed a cool, hardened exterior that occasionally let forth a suggestion of romantic or idealistic sentimentality. Bogart also had a unique method of smoking cigarettes in these pictures—letting the butt dangle from his mouth without removing it until it was almost entirely consumed. Some believe that this habit inspired the current meaning of bogart, which was once limited to the phrase “Don’t bogart that joint [marijuana cigarette],” as popularized by a song on the soundtrack to the film Easy Rider, among other things. Today bogart can be applied to hogging almost anything.

The magic surged through her fingers and erupted in the night air in a shower of gold. It lit the darkness and the figure of the elderly man strolling along the path before her.

A rush of anticipation ensnared her. This one had taken a while to find. He had been expecting her to come for him, for the power he held, the power she longed to possess.

The shimmering magic danced in her open palm, waiting to do her bidding.

He turned at last, drawn to her presence by the flickering light.

She delighted in the dawning horror that drained his face of all colour.

“Your efforts were in vain, Karros.”

“The power will destroy you, Bogart.”

“I will destroy you first.”

With a single thought, she flung the magic at him.

Paralyzed by the knowledge of defeat, he did not flee. The magic struck him in the chest, seizing his heart.

His agonized cry died on his lips before it could resound in the world. It took several moments after that for his life to be fully extinguished. She savoured every second of his pain, drinking it in with the thirst of one who has long been parched.

His last breath passed through his gaping mouth. In its wake, the wave of gold emerged. It held within it a pulsing white orb and dropped it obediently into her expectant palm.

The magic dissolved in the night air and only the white light held the darkness at bay.

She turned from the corpse without remorse.Through the night, she strode, victory riding upon her shoulders.

Only two remained, and then her collection would be complete. Only two and then she would possess the full power of the Duodecarys.

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6 thoughts on “Wordly Wise Wednesday | Bogart”

I love this idea so very much! I’m mad I didn’t come up with it ;p Amazing job with “bogart”. Here’s a word for you: boatswain. I don’t know why I like that word so much but I do. Wish it was used more. Great job! I’m looking forward to more of these 😀

I’m glad you like the idea 🙂 It’s something I’ve been toying with for a while, and it’s a great way to inspire some writing.
I love this word so very much! Thanks for suggesting it! Definitely will be inspired by this next week 🙂

Wow, PLEASE tell me there’s more to this story, that this is part of something you’ve already conceived, or that it has inspired a new, longer story for someday. It’s begs a complex world that I’d be even more impressed to hear you just pulled out of thin air while writing this one piece.

Thanks for your amazing comment! I’m glad you loved it so much 😀
I can honestly say that I just pulled it out of the air 🙂 But I definitely do want to do more. It’s another idea jotted down for a later day 😉

A great post idea! I love finding out about different words and like your twist and writing a tale about it. I loved the short story! Beautifully written and your words dance that give the story a fluid motion. Thank you for sharing.
The word I have thought of is … Amalgamation.